Balthor
Summary "His hammer knocks all enemies down" Balthor is the first hero the player receives, during the first level of the tutorial. Ability: Thunderstrike Balthor uses his Thunderstrike upon engaging his first enemy. He pounds his hammer on the ground, knocking down all enemies within a large radius. Upgrades Level 1: Close Ranks After the first attack by any unit in his squad, all units in the squad gain an armour bonus. Level 6: Growing Thunder After 12 hits, Balthor's Thunderstrike ability recharges and can be used again. Level 23 / Chapter 18: Distant Thunder Thunderstrike now affects all enemies on the map. Level 32 / Chapter 39: Thick Skin Balthor gains 10% armour. Level 57 / Chapter 39: Last Stand If no allied squads are near Balthor and his squad, Balthor gains armour. Strategy 'On Defense: '''Balthor's Ability to stun every enemy nearby (and across the map at later levels) makes him a threatening force to deal with, as he and his allied squads can dish out heavy damage in a large encounter while the enemy team has to sit there and take it. This allows for aggressive takebacks or strong defenses, depending on what's needed. Serfs are a basic option that Balthor can utilize well - with such a large squad, he has a decent chance to utilize his "Growing Thunder" upgrade and get a second strike off with it. It also allows him and his squad to act as a good damage shield for other more important squads that deal higher damage. Cladwall's Blessing ability is appreciated on this squad as it further buys time for Balthor's Growing Thunder, but also because it gives a large amount of extra HP due to the high number of units in the squad. Grimm's Tombstone produces extra units to assist, further buying Balthor time to Thunderstrike again. Archers can be used as an interesting mass archer defense. Balthor himself runs out and stuns anyone approaching, giving all nearby archers a longer time to fire on the enemy. This strategy is also effective with Iriel's support with a melee squad, further delaying the enemies' advance to any archers on your team. This does have a glaring weakness to an attacking Grimm's tombstone or Taigar's Mystical Stag, as these can use up Balthor's Thunderstrike early. Knights are not very easily utilized for defense, other than perhaps a quick takeback. The lack of squad size however makes this difficult to win in a squad-vs-squad fight. In combination with a sneak attack from Baba this can be useful, however. Iriel's bird can link to Balthor as well to provide assistance if needed. Sentries are an effective squad with Balthor as the stun can give the sentries ample time to deal a big chunk of damage to enemy squads. Iriel is appreciated with this squad due to her ability to shield Balthor's frail sentries from damage with her own squad. Cladwall's Blessing is helpful to keep this squad from dying too quickly. Baba with a squad of serfs nearby Balthor's squad can prove to be a strong combination, and can even be a threatening push to take back a point already captured if used in combination with each other. Soldiers & Brutes are similar to sentries, though more survivable options that require less management. '''On Attack: '''Balthor's Thunderstrike makes him a threat all on his own, and can allow for highly aggressive attacks from your team. Serfs allow Balthor to act as a damage sponge for his team while pushing for an attack. The additional stun prolongs the life of all units, making it that much more effective. Any high damage units appreciate this option, such as a squad of archers or sentries. Archers are much more difficult to utilize on attack than defense with Balthor. Other heroes can benefit from a squad of archers more than Balthor. Knights can be an efficient way to allow your team to run into combat against a large number of archers - Balthor can quickly close the gap due to the additional speed the knights squad offers while the rest of your team follows behind. Balthor's Thunderstrike allows the rest of your team to close the gap while the enemy team is knocked down. A good attack plan is needed for this, as the stun is better utilized to damage enemies while down. Archer squads of your own can capitalize on this strategy, or other squads of knights can engage the enemy archers while down. Ozzy can teleport in to get a further stun (at higher levels). Taigar's Mystical Stag can be beneficial as when the enemy team recovers from stuns, they already have additional enemies to face. Sentries can make pushes with Balthor very powerful with their high damage output, provided they are well protected on the way into combat. Iriel's ability to immediately bring Balthor's squad into melee combat this way is an terrifying combination, since all other squads on the team can also be brought in to dish out the maximum damage possible and capitalize on Thunderstrike. Sassan's illusions can be a helpful damage sponge as well. Pepper's Fireball can stun clustered enemies to give Balthor's squad further time to approach, or to extend damage output if needed. Soldiers & Brutes are a more standardized pick for Balthor's squad, giving him and his squad good damage and durability. This squad appreciates any squad of serfs used as a damage sponge. Pepper & Freya both give strong approach options that also allow Balthor's squad to engage and stun, further increasing the amount of downtime enemies are forced to take. Dyna can also be used to further stun enemies if necessary, creating a stunlock composition with heavy hitting squads. '''Weaknesses: ' Balthor on defense doesn't like Taigar or Grimm, as they both have ways to use up his Thunderstrike early. Killing Balthor before he has a chance to use his Thunderstrike is another way to counter a plan relying on Balthor. Detailed Statistics Category:Heroes Category:Melee Heroes